Spent a very enjoyable day at Chester Zoo for their Ape Conservation Symposium. The speaker line-up was amazing with some really top drawer presentations. It is amazing to hear about all the hard work being done to preserve these iconic animals and their habitat. One of the most harrowing topics of the day was the bush meat trade. This is such a huge problem with a global reach. Chester Zoo has to be applauded for all the support it gives to multiple centres around the globe working at the coal face of conservation. I had my eyes opened to just how important zoos are in this field 14 years ago when I first started working with Blackpool Zoo. Since moving back to Cheshire my local Zoo has been Chester and have been asked along to a few publicity days over the years. I have strengthened my association with them recently by agreeing to be a patron of a new conservation initiative that will be launched soon.